Travis Mathew Apparel specializes in casual menswear for on and off the golf course. It’s a favorite of Wayne Gretzky as well as current NHL stars James Neal, Dustin Penner, Scottie Upshall and Ryan Getzlaf. “That laid-back, SoCal athletic vibe resonates with a lot of guys who want to look good during an off-day on the golf course,” said Leif Sunderland, the marketing director for the Seal Beach, Calif.-based retailer. travismathew.com.

Posts Tagged ‘Penguins’

The playoffs have been interesting so far. Some teams have surprised me. Others haven’t at all.

The biggest surprise was the play of the New York Islanders. I thought Pittsburgh would wipe the floor with the Isles and that they should feel lucky if they pick up one game in the series. New York ended up staying with the Penguins in almost every game, and lost two heartbreakers at home in overtime. I never thought I’d say this, but the Islanders look as if they are finally turning things around. (Just in time for their move to Brooklyn!)

Another surprise was the performance of the Minnesota Wild. I’m not surprised that they lost to Chicago, but because they got bounced in only five games. Losing their top goaltender didn’t help, but Minnesota’s offense was stagnant the whole series. The Wild also looked terrible in Game 4 as they got shut out at home and handed the Blackhawks all the momentum in the series. Nevertheless, Minnesota looks stable and if they can add another scorer and fix their inconsistency in the net, they should be a force next season.

Speaking of net consistency, here’s Vancouver. The Canucks’ first-round sweep didn’t surprise me at all. They looked flat-out awful against the Sharks. Roberto Luongo started the first two games in net and didn’t look that bad, but then he was pulled for Cory Schneider, who wasn’t an improvement. Vancouver needs to fix its goaltending problem next season, or else they can kiss their fading Stanley Cup hopes goodbye.

Anyway, we’ve said goodbye to eight teams and are now off to the Conference Semifinals. Here are my predictions for the second round.

The big, bad, bruising Boston Bruins won’t be the only team sporting black eyes when the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs are finished. | Photo by Dan Hickling

Don’t be fooled by the playoff seedings after a 48-game regular season. There are no shoo-ins here.

Think the short season wasn’t long enough to shake things up? The Maple Leafs are playoff upstarts and the Red Wings are fading. Jarome Iginla is in Pittsburgh and Jaromir Jagr is in Boston. The defending champions brought nearly their entire Stanley Cup-winning roster back into the regular season, yet aren’t favored to get out of the first round.

And yet, amidst the craziness, the best hockey teams on the planet are seeded first in each conference, on a collision course to a memorable Stanley Cup Finals.

The puck drops on the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs in a few hours. The cast of characters includes some new faces (Brian Elliott), some familiar faces (Sidney Crosby), and some faces that are just plain old (Nicklas Lidstrom).

AllPuck.com breaks down each of the first-round series, and offers its first prediction for a Stanley Cup champion.

One of the National Hockey League’s worst-kept secrets is the teams and location for the next Winter Classic (A faceoff between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor). However, no set plans have been reported for the 2014 showdown and beyond.

Therefore, I decided to put together a list of potential games I would like to see that make the most sense for the league, both in terms of local interest and television revenue.

That’s a cockamamie plan, right? You’ll hear it every year among delusional fans – never Red Wings fans, because we think logically and never have to worry about finishing dead friggin’ last – but you’ll hear it everywhere in the circle of sports. Los Angeles Clippers fans. Indianapolis Colts fans. Cleveland Cavaliers fans. The list goes on.

Let’s tank the season and get the No. 1 draft pick.

It’s a crazy theory, really. I mean … who wants to lose? And who would go through with such a ridiculous idea? Gutless people, heartless people, cheaters. That’s who.

This hasn’t been a very joyful year in the world of hockey. Three NHL players (Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak) died. A tragic plane crash in Russia decimated the KHL’s Lokomotiv team, taking the lives of former NHLers Pavol Demitra and Ruslan Salei among 44 victims.

However, as we gather with our families and friends this Thanksgiving, we can be happy that there were two pleasant surprises this week: The return of a superstar and the rise of previously unheard of schools in the world of college hockey.